Obstacle Course Adventure Racing is not a “new” craze for the staff of The Original Mud Run (TOMR). TOMR evolved out of races conducted by a group of US Marines starting in California in the 1980’s. For many years the only Obstacle Course challenges available were those conducted by the founding members of TOMR team. In 1999, Dallas Texas became the central hub of all forms of Obstacle Course Adventure Racing with the “civilianization” of the Marine Mud Run now a private company called The Original Mud Run. It has been going strong ever since.
The biggest thing for the TOMR team is providing a challenge to its participants and connecting them to the fabric of their community.
TOMR works with a local charity in an effort to do some good for the communities where they work. As with anything successful, the market is full of imitation races….some big and some small. But one thing remains the same: The Original Mud Run is still the standard by which all other races are measured. There have been growth experiences and challenges along the way for many of the races of this genre, but TOMR continually seeks to provide a safe, challenging, life-changing test of athletic ability, perseverance and mental toughness for anyone willing to try.
People from all walks of life, all backgrounds and especially all levels of physical fitness have tested themselves against what most say is the most challenging obstacle course in the world. Obstacles are attempted at the risk of each participant and their own assessment of their ability. There are 3 race distances; a 10K (6.2 mile) with 30+ obstacles and 5K (3.1 mile) race with 18+ obstacles along with a Kid’s 1 Mile race with 8+ age appropriate obstacles (ages 3-12)
. Participants sign a waiver acknowledging the fact they are taking part in something that can cause injury and even death and are encouraged to skip obstacles they do not feel capable of completing.
Participation in Mud Runs (as they are commonly known) is at an all-time high. Here is one testimonial from TOMR’s many happy runners:
“This is the race I measure all other muddy runs against.” says Plano, TX resident Oscar Baeza, Jr. Ever since participating in his first Original Mud Run a year ago, Coach Oscar specifically trains exclusively for this event each season by building on endurance and upper body strength combined. He finds the 10k distance of the Original Mud Run is what makes it much more of a challenge than other races of this nature which are most commonly 5k. But, he admits that the obstacles on this course will test your level of commitment further as well.
Don’t let him scare you off from trying it for the first time though. In fact, maybe he can scare you into registering as a first-timer since he and his buddy, Jake Wade, basically dared one another to do it in the first place. Now, with two muddy seasons under their fingernails, they continue to recruit friends from Plano in the spring and fall to join them in conditioning for the next Mud Run.
I bet they’ll be doing pull-ups since he tells us the Gorilla Ropes are the toughest. “When you swing forward to reach for the next “bar” someone else’s weight causes it to swing away from your reach at just the wrong time.” Did you just hear a big splash?
Oscar’s other big nemesis is the Mudslide. (One big, slippery slope aiming you on a quick, slick shoot straight into more deep, yep, you guessed it.) Let’s just say upon landing, he doesn’t like where the mud goes. (Get your mind out of the trenches- we were talking about his contacts.)
Oscar claims, “The Original Mud Run is for mud runners who want more!”
Great! Put me in Coach!
If you want information on how to register for a TOMR event near you please visit www.iMudRun.com
